"State Of The Community" Breakfast Brings Leaders Together
Thursday, April 18th, 2024
The state of our community is strong. That was the consensus of greater Dalton's leaders at Thursday morning's "State of the Community" breakfast. The annual event was hosted by the Greater Dalton Chamber of Commerce and featured presentations by the mayors of the Dalton, Tunnel Hill, and Varnell and the chairman of Whitfield County's Board of Commissioners.
Caption: Dalton Mayor Annalee Sams speaks Thursday morning at the Greater Dalton Chamber of Commerce's State of the Community breakfast
Mayor Sams began her presentation to the gathering of business leaders and community members with an update on the City's "CLEAN" initiative. The program focuses the efforts of the City's Code Enforcement Unit, Public Works, and also community organizations on fixing up code violations in a small focus area to restore the shine to Dalton's neighborhoods one at a time. The "Spring CLEAN" kicked off last week with a focus on the neighborhoods surrounding the Mack Gaston Community Center and Thursday was the first "amnesty day" where the Public Works Department's Sanitation Division agreed to pick up and haul away garbage and refuse items which are typically not allowed to be left at the curb in order to help residents with their work. The focus on the Mack Gaston area is expected to take approximately 8 weeks.
"We think this (program) is going to be even more successful once citizens see that no one is there to write them a citation, no one is there to pick on anyone, it's truly coming from a place of helping to facilitate our community looking better and in turn being safer," Mayor Sams said.
Mayor Sams also trumpeted the accomplishments of the City's Parks and Recreation Department (DPRD). She pointed out that the Mill Line Trail has already become a very popular destination for residents this spring even before a grand opening could be scheduled. She noted that a ribbon cutting would be scheduled as soon as the final signage for the trail arrives and can be posted. She also reported large increases in the number of children participating in youth sports with the DPRD, with 400 more kids participating in sports this spring compared to last year. There were more than 5,100 children participating in sports in 2023, and the DPRD expects that number to continue increasing.
"That is fantastic," Mayor Sams said of the trend of increased youth sports participation. "When kids are engaged and they're participating in positive activities and they've got positive role models around them, they're going to do good things. There's no doubt about it."
Caption: Varnell Mayor Tom Dickson, Chamber of Commerce President Jason Mock, Whitfield County Board of Commissioners Chairman Jevin Jensen, Dalton Mayor Annalee Sams, and Tunnel Hill Mayor Kenny Gowin posed together after Thursday's breakfast meeting
Mayor Sams pointed out that the DPRD's successes aren't just limited to athletic programming. She also told the gathering about the "Level Up" leadership development program for middle school children. The program brought together kids once weekly for 8 weeks to hear presentations from community leaders focused on life skills and character focused on four pillars: integrity, attitude, commitment, and vision. The children also each work with mentors from the community.
"Everyone in this room has to think: how are we making sure that everything we do is somehow focusing on fostering a great love and sense of community for Dalton?" Mayor Sams said. "You do it through engaging with your young people... you have to keep them safe, you have to help them with those life skills, and this program is focused on helping particularly students who might not otherwise have those kinds of opportunities."
Mayor Sams closed her presentation by saying that the Dalton she knew growing up was a friendly, welcoming place and that it still is today.
"We want to make sure that we foster all of the infrastructure that's needed for people to be able to live with us, to thrive, work, and play," she said. "We want (Dalton) to be the best community, and it needs to continue to be the most welcoming, friendliest community and keep making good things happen for all of our citizens."
Whitfield County Board of Commissioners Chairman Jevin Jensen, Mayor Tom Dickson of Varnell, and Mayor Kenny Gowin of Tunnel Hill also gave presentations about the work being done in their communities at Thursday's breakfast.
